Lando Norris ripped through a wild Sao Paulo Grand Prix to grab the win, but it was the absolute rollercoaster performances from new world champion Kimi Antonelli and his Mercedes teammate George Russell that truly cooked, even as Mercedes locked up the constructors’ championship. What a day, right?
Norris Seizes the Chaos
Norris started on pole, which felt like a good sign, but Antonelli immediately blasted past him from the front row. When the track was wet, Norris even dropped back. Talk about a gut punch to start! But then, the McLaren strategists pulled a genius move, pitting Norris earlier for dry-weather tires. That put him right on Antonelli’s tail, and guess what? Antonelli spun away the lead at the first corner. BOOM! Norris reclaimed first place and just hammered it through a late rain shower, even needing another switch back to wet-weather tires. This win is HUGE for Norris, his first since the Dutch Grand Prix back in August, a solid two months without a top step.
Mercedes’ Championship Rollercoaster
Okay, so Antonelli, the new world champ, looked like he was about to crown his season with a win, building a massive five-second lead in just 10 laps, stretching it to over eight seconds by lap 13. He was GONE! But the track was drying up fast. Norris dove into the pits for slicks three laps earlier, and Antonelli followed a lap later. But that earlier stop for Norris meant he was all over the Mercedes’ gearbox when Antonelli rejoined. Antonelli was complaining over the radio about his car feeling strange under acceleration, and BAM, on lap 20, he lost control right at Turn One, spinning out and handing Norris the lead. Not to be outdone in the mistake department, his teammate George Russell, who started seventh, spun exiting the pits earlier in the race and lost a whopping 15 to 20 seconds, after he had clawed his way into podium contention. Despite these wild travails, Antonelli and Russell still finished fourth and fifth, which was enough for Mercedes to clinch the constructors’ championship, just a week after Antonelli wrapped up the drivers’ title. Seriously, how did they pull that off?!
Verstappen’s Epic Comeback
While the Mercedes guys were struggling, Max Verstappen delivered an absolute clinic on recovery. He started in 21st place thanks to an engine penalty. TWENTY-FIRST! And he still powered his way back to second. Norris definitely had too much pace for him whether the track was dry or wet, but Verstappen’s drive in those crazy changing conditions at Interlagos was just supreme. Hadjar had pace too, but he wasn’t consistent like Verstappen and made too many mistakes. Red Bull even threw a team order at Hadjar on lap 39 to let Verstappen by, hoping he could chase Norris. But Norris was just too fast.
This Sao Paulo Grand Prix was a total wild card, from Norris finally breaking his win drought to the new world champ making huge blunders, yet his team still securing a major title. It just shows you, in racing, anything can happen until that final checkered flag.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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